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Music of Macedonia (Greece)

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It forms part of the broader musical tradition of mainland and of the southernBalkans.Compared to other regions of, the music of Macedonia is characterized by a high degree of diversity, due to the numerous influences it has received over the years from neighboring countries and particularly fromrefugees arriving in the early 20th century.In general terms, Macedonian music can be thought of as the connecting chain between the Western musical tradition ofEpirusandThessalyand the Eastern musical tradition ofThraceandConstantinople.

Macedonian music is known for its tradition of patriotic folk songs, includingklepht songsand songs that make references to theMacedonian Struggle.It is also notable for the use ofbrass instruments(calledchálkina),trumpets,tympanaandkoudounia.Other instruments used include clarinet, violin andMacedonian lyra.

Folk dances from Macedonia include theMacedonia,HasapikoandSyrtaki(found allover Greece),Leventikos,Endeka Kozanis,Stankena,Akritikos,Baidouska,Macedonikos antikristos,Kori Eleni,Partalos,Kleftikos Macedonikos,Mpougatsas,Kastorianos,O Nikolos,Antikrystos,Sirtos Macedonias,ZeibekikoandKapitan Louka.

Macedonia and especially its capital,Thessaloniki,maintain a thriving music scene and have been home to many of Greece's most prominent popular musicians of singers, includingMarinella,Stavros Kouyioumtzis,Giannis Kalatzis,Paschalis Terzis,Natassa Theodoridou,Antonis Remos,Nikos Papazoglou,Giannis Aggelakas,as well as bands such asOnirama,Xylina Spathia,TrypesandNightrage.

History[edit]

Further information:Music in ancient GreeceandByzantine music

Excavations in Macedonia have discovered musical instruments similar to theaulosas early as theNeolithic Eraand throughout classical antiquity. TheAncient Macedoniansenjoyed similar music to the rest of the Ancient Greeks andAlexander the Greatand his successors builtodeafor musical performances in every city they built, from Alexandria in Egypt to cities as distant as Ai-Khanoum in what is now modern-day Afghanistan.

Macedonian songs are in particular influenced by theAcriticByzantine tradition, while instruments such as thetambourine,theMacedonian lyraand theMacedonian bagpipeare directly descended from medieval Greek equivalents. Many local dances such asSyrtoshave also been danced to similar music for hundreds of years.

Modern Macedonian music is an admixture of the music of pre-20th centuryGreek Macedonians,which has some similarities to the music of neighboring Epirus and Thessaly, such as the music of Greek refugees from Asia Minor, who arrived following theAsia Minor disaster.

Regional variation[edit]

Western Macedonianmusic is the closest to that of Thessaly and Epirus and is dominated bybrass instruments,with the exception ofGrevenaand the surrounding area, where the Epirot orchestra (clarinet,violin,laoutoandtambourine) is more common.Grevenais also known for its folk andAcritic songstraditionally sung by womenwithout accompanying instrumentsto celebrateEaster.These songs date back to the Middle Ages and were passed down over the centuries among the then largely illiterate rural population. A similar tradition is found in the historically Greek-speaking villages of the western and southern parts ofKozani.The cities ofKozaniandKastoriafollow a separate tradition of urban songs, which survive until this day.

A rich brass tradition also evolved inPellaandKilkis,replacing the earlierzurna(karamuza) andbagpipebands, which still dominateImathiaand much ofCentralandEastern Macedonia.In Naoussa and the surrounding area, traditional orchestras consist of the famousdavulandzurnacombination, whileVeriais known for itsOttoman-style urban music. In mountainous Pieria, the dominant instrument was thegaida,whileChalkidike,due to its tradition of sea-faring trade, shares more in common with the music of theAegean islands,the dominant instruments there being theviolinand thelaouto.

Nearer the border withNorth Macedoniaand particularly inFlorina,songs such asLeventikosand associated dances are shared betweenGreekandSlavicspeakers, with the same songs often having lyrics in both languages.

Folk Songs[edit]

Folk dances[edit]

The use ofbrass instruments(chálkina) is notable in the music of the region

Folk dances in theMacedonian region of Greeceinclude:

See also[edit]

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